Of course, it didn’t happen right away, and the early gay nightlife scene of the 1930s was not long-lived. A place with its own chamber of commerce dedicated to the queer community since 1997, and where Art Smith hosted and officiated a mass gay wedding for more than two dozen couples this past February.

From then on, it would be a rollercoaster of ups and downs, filled with progress, failure, celebrations, and heartbreak in Miami LGBT history, leading to our current status as a gay mecca that attracts more than 1 million LGBT visitors a year. Miami has had a gay nightlife scene as early as the 1930s.